Crystal Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Hi All- I was given this holster to replace a snap. I had to take the stitching apart to get to the snap and found this wonderful green gunk on the backside of the snaps. What would be the best way to go about cleaning this? The holster is stamped 1944 and the leather is in fairly good shape, just a little dry. See anything wrong with giving it a good scrubbing with saddle soap, a rinse, air dry and a light coat of neatsfoot oil? Thanks for the help! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikePatterson Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Your on the right track crystal, something like BlackRock or any good oil cond. will be fine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted February 24, 2009 it's called Verdigris. It usually happens with brass and those snaps would be plated brass. I think vinegar will remove Verdigris, can't be sure of that, though. Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Your on the right track crystal, something like BlackRock or any good oil cond. will be fine. Thank you, Mike! it's called Verdigris. It usually happens with brass and those snaps would be plated brass. I think vinegar will remove Verdigris, can't be sure of that, though.Tony. The green is gunky and greasy feeling. I will attack it with some vinegar and see how it goes. Thanks for the help! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frank Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Just remember one important thing about vinegar. It needs to be neutralized after using it on leather. Vinegar by itself will remove bluing from a gun in about 5-10 minutes and it's not a good thing to use on gun leather without neutralizing. Thank you, Mike!The green is gunky and greasy feeling. I will attack it with some vinegar and see how it goes. Thanks for the help! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Just remember one important thing about vinegar. It needs to be neutralized after using it on leather. Vinegar by itself will remove bluing from a gun in about 5-10 minutes and it's not a good thing to use on gun leather without neutralizing. Thanks Frank. Didn't think about that. I had read to use vinegar to get rid of mold, but don't remember seeing anything about neutralizing it afterward. I had seen where you need to neutralize the vinegroon and thought that was to stop the chemical process and help to eliminate the vinegar oder. Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hedge Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Thanks Frank. Didn't think about that. I had read to use vinegar to get rid of mold, but don't remember seeing anything about neutralizing it afterward. I had seen where you need to neutralize the vinegroon and thought that was to stop the chemical process and help to eliminate the vinegar oder.Crystal Crystal, Why not try using some baking soda in water and scrubbing the green off with a toothbrush? That should work without having the concern with the acid in the vinegar. Hedge. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Crystal,Why not try using some baking soda in water and scrubbing the green off with a toothbrush? That should work without having the concern with the acid in the vinegar. Hedge. Thanks, Hedge. I had that suggested to me last night. I think that is what I will try instead. I just don't want to ruin someone's 65 year old holster! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hedge Report post Posted February 24, 2009 Thanks, Hedge. I had that suggested to me last night. I think that is what I will try instead. I just don't want to ruin someone's 65 year old holster! Crystal You're welcome. (Hey, when do we get to see pics of your herd?) Hedge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted February 24, 2009 You're welcome. (Hey, when do we get to see pics of your herd?) Hedge The herd has been indulging in "spa" days. They are enjoying their mud wraps, so as soon as I can knock some of that off and get a little bit of a polish on them I will snap some pics! They need hair cuts too if I am going to do their school pictures. Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hedge Report post Posted February 24, 2009 The herd has been indulging in "spa" days. They are enjoying their mud wraps, so as soon as I can knock some of that off and get a little bit of a polish on them I will snap some pics! They need hair cuts too if I am going to do their school pictures. Crystal LOL!!! Ok, reckon we can wait. They're lucky that they can roll in the mud. We still have more snow than we know what to do with. Heck, our north and west fences are 3 feet under! Myriam's going to get plenty of practice mending fences this spring. Hedge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhall Report post Posted February 24, 2009 That appears to be a WW2 "Tanker" holster and the Vedigris is from the brass snaps,If your cust is not a purrist or collector I would replace the snaps with Chrome plated or Stainless From the Boat Canvas folks .That will delay the return of verdigris.I have had good luck in restorations with Lexol ,but use it very sparingly.I have been collecting this stuff since the 60"s so I hope it turns out OK! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted February 25, 2009 I just remembered what I used to clean Verdigris from some conchos years ago. It was Hoppes bore solvent! Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted February 25, 2009 That appears to be a WW2 "Tanker" holster and the Vedigris is from the brass snaps,If your cust is not a purrist or collector I would replace the snaps with Chrome plated or Stainless From the Boat Canvas folks .That will delay the return of verdigris.I have had good luck in restorations with Lexol ,but use it very sparingly.I have been collecting this stuff since the 60"s so I hope it turns out OK! Thanks, Rob. Neat to know the history on this. He just wants the one snap replaced and I only actually have to change out the male end on that. I had to remove the stitching to get to the snap, or I wouldn't have touched that. After I removed the stitching then I found all this other stuff. I am just going to try to get it back to him without doing too much damage to it. I'll try to remember to get a pic of the front side when I am done. Crystal I just remembered what I used to clean Verdigris from some conchos years ago. It was Hoppes bore solvent!Tony. Thanks, Tony. I actually found that solvent online! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorts Report post Posted February 27, 2009 Every shooter has Hoppes! ...I'm going to go try it on some snaps I got looking funny. Crystal, I'm interested in seeing this when you're done. I also echo rhall's reply about what the holster actually is to the owner; collector or fun-to-have era specific gear? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhall Report post Posted February 27, 2009 I've got abunch of old stuff(like me) that I have been collecting since about 1962,It's amazing how well that stuff has held up concidering it's age.I wish I could of done that too!. LOL. Iv'e got afew pieces of Civil War gear thats still decent. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted February 27, 2009 All done. It got a cleaning, the bad part of the one snap replaced and was stitched back together. Just two light coats of neatsfoot put on it. The name "Rocky" is scratched into the side: Pic of back stamp: I didn't ask about any history to this. The guy is a collector of just about everything. He has muskets to small cannon and everything in between. He's got a really sweet hunting bag that I want to get some pictures of and maybe try to recreate someday. Thanks for all the help, everyone! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jbird Report post Posted February 27, 2009 Good work and now I know what to do when it comes up. Josh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorts Report post Posted February 27, 2009 Nice work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
